Prof. Marie Beaulieu 
Professor, School of Social Work | University of Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, QC, CA
Marie Beulaieu is a professor at the department of social services of the faculty of letters and humanities of the Université de Sherbrooke.
Age is not a barrier to sexual activity
2018-03-08Connect with an Expert
Contrary to popular belief, older people have sex, and over half of older Britons would prefer more sex.
A recent study surveying 2,002 Britons aged 65+ found that over half of the respondents (52%) wish they were having more sex, and nearly one third were open to having sex on a first date. The survey also found that ten percent of respondents over the age of 75 reported having more than one sexual partner in the past ten years.
Older people are more sexually involved than the general population believes. In fact, the respondents explained the only reason they would stop having sex is due to “lack of opportunity”.
Lack of awareness toward sexual activity in older people leads to the assumption that sexual health is an issue solely for the younger population. This may contribute to the fact that around 9% of respondents in the survey did not use protection against sexually transmitted infections when becoming sexually active with a new person.
If you would like to learn more about sexual activity in later life, consider attending the IFA 14th Global Conference on Ageing and the Master Class happening on 7 August that addresses the sexual rights of older people. See https://www.ifa2018.com/master-classes/ for more details.
For more information on sexual activity in later life, connect with one of our IFA experts.
